head to head
vs
Lisa: The PainfulvsThe Crooked Man
Lisa: The Painful leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); The Crooked Man leans Optimization (Systems & Chaos).
Lisa: The PainfulThe Crooked Man
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 2
Even - both lean on execution about the same.
Reads0 vs 0
Even - both lean on reads about the same.
Variance3 vs 4
The Crooked Man leans harder on variance: Unknown story routes and jump-scares until the script is learned
Optimization7 vs 6
Lisa: The Painful leans harder on optimization: Party builds and sacrifice decisions are strategic
Two games can score the same on an axis and still test it in very different ways - read each rationale, not just the number.